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Very Inspired

Hi, friends. How did you ring in 2013? I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season, and that you all have a joyful, healthy and inspiring 2013!

Oh, speaking of inspiring, guess what?! The ever-gracious A.M.B. of The Misfortune of Knowing has nominated Covered In Flour for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! Now if that isn’t a way to begin 2013 – with some positive feedback from a blogger whose work I really enjoy and respect – then I don’t know what is. A.M.B. says that she and I have a lot in common – we’re both 31-year-old attorneys, moms to preemies, and fans of the Cotswolds – and I couldn’t agree more. But I’m really honored and flattered that she feels that we are alike, and that she finds my blog inspiring, because I always find her blog smart, well-written and thought-provoking.

So, here are the Pirate Codes guidelines for the award: (1) say thanks and give a link to the blogger who nominated you; (2) post the award pic to your own blog; and (3) list seven little-known facts about yourself. Of course, you don’t have to play along! It’s all in good fun.

My Very Inspiring Nominees

I’d love to turn right around and re-nominate A.M.B., since I think her blog is one of the most inspiring out there. Her posts about court cases relating to censorship and copyright issues are right after my lawyerly bookworm heart, her book reviews are always thoughtful (even when we don’t agree), and her little girls are dangerously adorable. But since I’m pretty sure that re-nominating the blogger who gave you the award in the first place is cheating, here – in no specific order – are three other bloggers who have inspired me, both through their posts and through our interactions in the comments sections on their blogs and my own.

Cakes, Tea and Dreams – Katie writes about books, travel, love and family, life in Boston, spirituality and so much more. Her blog is one of my absolute favorites to read, because she always speaks directly to my heart. Beyond the blogs, we’ve had a (longhand, snail-mail) correspondence going for over a year now, and very few things bring a smile to my face the way seeing one of her letters in my mailbox does. And she’s just as lovely and gracious in person as she is online and in letters – she and her wonderful husband Jeremiah visited D.C. this summer and stayed with hubby and me, and we all had a marvelous time.

The Girl Next Door – I love reading blogs about people in far-flung locations and learning about different lives, and The Girl Next Door is perfect for that. She writes about life in Bangalore (with luscious pictures – I can’t get enough of her snaps of her incredible travels and of the flora and architecture closer to her home) and about books, food and family. And she includes her own original poetry and short fiction. Beautiful writing, thoughtful posts and great pictures – the makings of an outstanding blog!

Seven Little-Known Facts About Me

This is kind of difficult! I’m not sure if I can come up with seven facts that I haven’t blogged about before, but that I don’t consider too private or personal to share. But I’ll give it the old Hogwarts try.

1) When I was in high school, I had a “job” teaching piano lessons to little kids. They’d come to my house for a half-hour lesson once a week and at the end of the year we had a recital with all of their parents. I made cookies.

2) I have a weirdly good memory for things like song lyrics and lines from movies or TV shows. I have memorized R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” and also Sir Mix-a-lot’s “Baby Got Back.” (Yes, I have a diverse repertoire.) And with minimal prompting I can pretty much recite every episode of “Friends.”

3) It drives me cahhhhh-razy when people mispronounce the word “nuclear.” I don’t care what you say, “nuc-u-lar” is not “an acceptable alternative pronounciation” – no matter how many people mispronounce the word, it’s still a mispronunciation. This is one of my pet peeves.

5) I learned to tell my lefts from my rights based on a beauty mark I had on my left hand. Then the beauty mark faded away, and I made wrong turns for several years.

6) I have big hiking ambitions. Someday, probably when I retire (if I ever retire) I’d like to hike the entire South West Coast Path in England. And I really, really want to become an Adirondack 46er.

7) I cherish a secret, back-burnered ambition to write a novel. (Who doesn’t?) But I’m thinking of actually giving it a real try. I have the basic outlines of a plot, and lots of research to do (it’s a historical fiction plot). Maybe in 2013?

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15 Responses

Thank you for the kind words! Please, call me Amal. It’s nice to get to know you a little better through this post. I can’t stand it when people say, “nuc-u-lar” either, and then one day I slipped and it just came out of my mouth. I was horrified! You should definitely get to work on writing your novel. I think the majority of lawyers harbor an ambition to write creativity. There’s only so much dry legal writing we can take! I finished a manuscript for a women’s fiction novel over the summer (I’ve had beta readers, but I haven’t done anything else with it so far). It’s my second full manuscript, but the only one I would ever consider publishing at some point. My first was about preemies, and while it was fiction, it was a little too close to home.

You’re welcome – and thank you (again) for the nomination. I think these “blog awards” are such fun! And a nice way to pay tribute to bloggers whose work we enjoy reading. One of these days I’ll get around to the novel. I’m definitely a frustrated fiction writer; as fun as legal writing is, it doesn’t quite fill the authorial ambitions, does it? I’m not sure when I’ll find the time between Peanut and work, but I do want to try. I’d love to hear more about your manuscript! And I can certainly see how a novel about preemies would hit too close to home. (By the way, I thought of you while – oddly enough – reading one of my mom’s Hollywood gossip magazines; apparently Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer had preemie twins who spent almost two months in the NICU. Seems they’re home now and doing well – so good to hear. I don’t watch “True Blood” but I’m always happy to read about babies coming home healthy. The article said Anna was in the NICU every day for hours on end. We’ve both been there!)

I had no idea that Ann Paquin and Stephen Moyer’s twins are preemies. I’m so glad to hear that they’re home now and doing well! The NICU isn’t an experience I would wish on anyone, even if I feel stronger for having gone through it. Good luck finding the time to write (when you’re ready to do it). I ended up writing most of the first draft of my second story while riding a stationary bike (my 45 minutes of “me time” each day).

I didn’t even know they had twins – or were expecting – or were involved – until I flipped through my mom’s magazine! I don’t watch “True Blood” so I generally don’t follow them. Still, I’m always happy to hear when preemies go home healthy. I agree with you that I wouldn’t want anyone to go through the NICU experience! (But I’m very glad that NICUs exist and that they have such talented doctors and nurses to help our teeny babies.)

LOL. We’re not watching kids’ shows just yet (although I did see a fair amount of “Sid the Science Kid” while visiting friends with a preschooler this summer). I do recall after my 2L year, some time ago, the firm where I summered had an outing to see “Riverdance” and all the attorneys brought their families. One of the partners had toddler twins who were under the impression that they were going to see the Wiggles live. Every ten minutes or so, one of them would yell out “YEA! WIGGLE-SHOWWWWWWWWW!” Funniest. Thing. Ever.

LOL, I’m not proud of fact #5! I did eventually learn to tell left from right, so all’s well that ends well. One of these days I’ll get to work on writing fiction again. I’d love to. It’s hard to find the time with a baby around!